Barnoldswick residents fight bid for new housing

RESIDENTS near the site of a planned housing development in Barnoldswick have launched a campaign against the scheme.

Developers want to build 29 homes on land off Long Ing Lane, but residents are concerned about increased traffic, flooding and the loss of greenfield land.

The campaigners organised a protest against the plans on the site with a ‘Save Barlick’s Greenfields’ banner.

A petition against the scheme has collected hundreds of signatures while some residents have also written to the council.

One protester for whom flooding is a concern is Anne Ainley, whose cottage on Long Ing Lane is at the bottom of a steep incline.

She said: “Three times in the past year I had to call the council to unblock the drains to relieve the flooding. These new buildings would only increase the severity of the flooding.” Mrs Ainley is also worried that building another road off Long Ing Lane would increase in traffic and the risk of accidents, especially as Long Ing Lane is the route of heavy lorries to and from the Silent Night beds factory.

She is also unhappy about the loss of the greenfield land, having walked her dogs in the fields since she moved to the area in 1986.

Fellow dog-walker Helen Thomas, of Rainhall Road, said: “I have been taking dogs round these fields for about 35 years and I know of at least a dozen others who have done the same for 25 years or more.”

Councillors on the West Craven Area Committee will make a decision on the outline planning application at their meeting in June.

They discussed the scheme in April but voted to defer a decision pending a site visit.